Demand for steel rebar and billet remained limited in the United Arab Emirates in the week to Tuesday August 17, with prices already falling and some market participants expecting them to drop even further, sources told Fastmarkets.The lower prices for billet and rebar imports are expected to have a knock-on effect on the domestic market, where prices are also expected to decline because of weak d...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports continued to exceed pre-pandemic levels in July as the market extended its recovery.The outgoing shipments more than doubled year on year to $2.26 billion, the highest since February 2019, according to data the country's Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) released this week.Rough imports also showed a significant increase, reflect...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora's revenue increased in the second quarter as solid US demand and online sales growth outweighed the jeweler's weak performance in mainland China.The company's sales rose by 84% year on year for the period - which ended June 30 - hitting DKK 5.16 billion ($816.1 million), Pandora said Tuesday. In comparison to 2019's second quarter, sales were up 13%, and online revenue spiked 1...Read More
RAPAPORT... Iris, you have been a strong advocate of sustainability for over 20 years. Why are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so important now?The 17 SDGs are the sustainability agenda for the world as agreed by 193 countries. They are about people, prosperity, planet, peace and partnerships. They are about leaving no one behind. It is an excellent framework for any company to us...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Police in Surat, India, have seized GIA certificates being used to fraudulently inflate the value of diamonds.They also confiscated a laser machine used to inscribe inferior stones with bogus GIA numbers and a number of diamonds.Officers acted after a number of complaints at the city's Mahidharpura diamond market and arrested a man."He collected certificates of only high-value...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A 14.60-ct diamond has been certified as the largest polished lab grown gem produced by the CVD process.The F/VVS2 stone was made by Ethereal Green Diamond, in Mumbai, India, and graded by the IGI lab.Last November, the Chinese manufacturer Shanghai Zhengshi Technology claimed a CVD record with a 12.75-ct F/VVS2.Before that, in June 2020, the GIA lab in Carlsbad, California, graded...Read More
China's National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) urged all of the country's provinces to take effective measures to meet the annual energy consumption and carbon emissions targets, in its monthly press conference on Tuesday August 17.The commission will supervise these measures, it added, especially the target of reducing energy consumption intensity."In the next step, our committee will fu...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A Philippe Dufour watch, made in 1995 for the Sultan of Brunei, sold yesterday for a record-breaking $7.33m.It became the priciest timepiece by an independent watchmaker ever sold at auction. The Grande et Petite Sonnerie - so named because of its hourly and quarter-hourly chimes - is one of only eight ever produced. It was sold on A Collected Man, a specialist web...Read More
The three-month aluminium price on the London Metal Exchange registered gains on the morning of Tuesday August 17 while the front-month contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange also rose to new highs amid supply disruptions to the flow of metals and raw materials.Three-month aluminum was at $2,632 per tonne at 9am on Tuesday, up by $30 per tonne from Monday's closing price of $2,602 per tonne. Th...Read More
Operations have been temporarily halted in Alashankou Port in Bortala Mongol autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, following reports of three new COVID-19 cases in the region on August 15.Commodities that have already arrived there, including copper cathodes, copper concentrates, refined zinc and zinc concentrates, are being held, and deliveries will be delayed...Read More
A summary of China-headquartered Huayou Cobalt's results for the six months ended June 30, 2021, as released by the company on Monday August 16.January-June 2021 results(year-on-year change)Revenue 14.29 billion yuan ($2.21 billion), up by 57.91%Net profit 1.42 billion yuan,...Read More
South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) has entered into an offtake agreement with Australian Mines Ltd for battery-grade nickel and cobalt materials produced by the latter.Under the agreement, the Korean company will have access to 71,000 tonnes of nickel and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate for six years starting from the end of 20...Read More
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States again tested the $96-per-hundredweight ($1,920-per-short-ton) level after the latest spot deals indicated that producers still have the upper hand on transaction pricing for September and October shipment. Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $95.87 per cwt ($1,917.40 per ton) on Tuesday August 17, up by 0.84% fro...Read More
New Brazilian service center Centro de Cortes de Pr?(C)-Pintados (CPP), which focuses on pre-painted steel products, started operational activity in the southern state of Santa Catarina on August 11, the company told Fastmarkets on Thursday August 12.The unit is located close to the country's main steel trade hub, S??o Francisco do Sul port, and on inauguration had capacity to process 14,000 tonne...Read More
Russia's Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) has suspended operations at its No2 basic oxygen furnace (BOF) at Lipetsk, having identified the need for further repairs after ramping up operations following an accident at the site.On Monday August 9, an explosion at the No2 BOF unit caused the roof to ignite. And while no one was injured,...Read More
A summary of the financial results for Turkey's largest steelmaking group, Erdemir, for January-June 2021.In brief Erdemir Group produced 4.503 million tonnes of crude steel over the half-year, equivalent to 23% of the national total. The group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) increased by 284.99% in January-June 2021, because of strong demand for steel in....Read More
The pair, who have formed a Chilean special purpose vehicle called Minera Tercero, will pay a total of US$68.2 million to unnamed private vendors for the 0.Read More
Future remains golden for Rox ResourcesSPONSOREDrox resourcesCashed-up Karora is doubling gold production at a blistering paceSPONSOREDkarora resourcesOzAurum drills in home of goldSPONSOREDozaurum resourcesThe Future of Tailings ManagementSPONSOREDNevada Copper said it now expected to reach steady-state production of 5,000 tonnes per day, originally slated for 2020, in the first half of 2022."The...Read More
Steel scrap prices in Mexico were mostly stable in the steelmaking regions of Bajio and Monterrey in the week ended Friday August 13, with buyers and sellers disputing whether to reduce prices.Price cuts for several grades of scrap were announced in the last two weeks by at least two steel producers, following a similar trend in international prices. Total price reductions could amount to 400-450...Read More
Imports of iron ore into the United States fell 80% month on month in May, when shipments from Brazil slowed to a trickle, according to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).Iron ore imports totaled 95,000 tonnes in May compared with 482,000 tonnes in April and 345,000 tonnes in March. The total, however, was 21.79% higher than the 78,000 tonnes imported in the same month last year.Deliveries...Read More